This photo, taken last week by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), shows a "filament" of cooler solar material hovering over the surface of the sun. The effect is of a huge crack across the sun, as if something is preparing to burst out. »2/17/15 11:30pm 2/17/15 11:30pm

Scientists working at the Solar Dynamics Observatory have spotted a massive solar filament that stretches across a good portion of the sun's visible surface. It's about 533,000 miles long (857,780 km) – equivalent to 67 Earths lined up in a row. »2/11/15 4:00pm 2/11/15 4:00pm

On January 19th, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) released its 100 millionth image of the sun. This image is a processed multiwavelength blend made from the images taken on the 19th to honor the milestone. »1/21/15 12:30am 1/21/15 12:30am

The Solar Dynamics Observatory is in an inclined geosynchronous orbit to give it an almost-continuous view of the sun. This position gives it a unique perspective, watching lunar transits us here down on Earth never even see. »11/25/14 10:15pm 11/25/14 10:15pm

This amazing footage shows you what it would like to watch a partial solar eclipse from space. One of the differences right away is that, due to the lack of atmosphere around the moon, there's no fuzziness along the edge between the moon and the sun, but just as different are the colors. »1/30/14 2:09pm 1/30/14 2:09pm

The sun takes on a jewel-like quality in this video from NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio, which converts light at various wavelengths that are invisible to the human eye into images that humans can see. Watch as various features on the sun's surface appear and disappear depending on the wavelength range. »12/21/13 9:00am 12/21/13 9:00am

Yesterday morning, the sun unleashed a powerful X1 solar flare. X-flares are the most powerful classification of solar eruption there is. This is the latest in a string of recent outbursts, with yesterday's eruption among the most violent we've seen all year. »11/20/13 9:20am 11/20/13 9:20am

In less than 24 hours, the Sun has unleashed a trio of X-Class solar flares. They are the first, second and third X-class eruptions of 2013, making them the most powerful of the year by a substantial margin. What's more, each burst has been more violent than the last. So uhh... what the hell is going on here? »5/14/13 8:15am 5/14/13 8:15am

This is incredible. NASA has just released a never-before-seen video of a solar eruption from July of last year that shows a solar flare, a coronal mass ejection, and loops of solar rain all occurring in one breathtaking sequence. »2/21/13 6:40am 2/21/13 6:40am

The last time you heard the term "gradient filter," it was probably in reference to a feature on a photo editing program, but scientists studying images and video collected by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory use gradient filters, too — often with absolutely mesmerizing results. »10/19/12 8:10am 10/19/12 8:10am

Earlier this afternoon, magnetic fields on the Sun's northeastern limb exploded in an arcing jet of roiling plasma, producing what is hands down one of the most spectacular solar explosions we've seen in years. »4/16/12 3:30pm 4/16/12 3:30pm

This morning, at 9:47 am ET, the Moon passed in front of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, temporarily blocking the satellite's view of the Sun. Fortunately for all of us, the Observatory's cameras were rolling — and what it captured is an incredible sight to behold. »2/21/12 3:37pm 2/21/12 3:37pm

What you see in this amazing video really is just a coincidence. A comet smashed into one side of the Sun just as a massive explosion ignited on the other side. Two entirely unrelated events...but they sure look awesome together. »10/09/11 11:50am 10/09/11 11:50am

Comets will occasionally come a little too close to the Sun and crash into a fiery oblivion, but until now we had never been able to see it as it happened (though there have been some fake comet-smashes-the-sun videos circulating online). Witness the last moments of a sun-grazer comet. Blink and you may miss it -… »7/14/11 11:20am 7/14/11 11:20am

This video from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory tracks five new sunspots as they twist and turn on the Sun's surface. Amazingly, all of these sunspots are bigger than the Earth and have more energy than a million nuclear bombs. »4/19/11 10:30am 4/19/11 10:30am

Last Friday, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this video of a partial solar eclipse, which shows the Moon blotting out the edges of the Sun in most unusual fashion, seemingly reversing direction as it moves. What's going on here? »3/07/11 11:01am 3/07/11 11:01am

Galaxy 15, a communications satellite 22,400 miles above the planet, refuses to obey commands sent from Earth. And it's getting perilously close to other satellites — potentially "infecting" them as well. »5/10/10 12:40pm 5/10/10 12:40pm

Earlier this week we saw the release of the first images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory, a spacecraft whose entire job is to study solar activity. Now we've got some fiery videos of mega-blasts on the solar surface. »4/22/10 4:00pm 4/22/10 4:00pm